Almac Sciences, a member of the Almac Group, introduced a new capability to synthesise therapeutic oligonucleotides leveraging a new RNA Ligase (RNAL) enzyme kit, extending the company’s selectAZyme enzyme screening collection. 

 

The kit contains a focussed library of 10 double stranded RNA Ligase enzymes, selected from an extended RNAL enzyme panel, and can be used to make single and double stranded RNA— as described in technical paper by Caswell et al. ACS Chem. Biol. 2023, 18(10), 2183-2187.

 

This marks the first time that Almac’s enzyme technology has been applied to therapeutic oligonucleotide synthesis, a class of drug that has rapidly grown in interest due to their synthesis and manufacture. Building on the biocatalytic technology base already available at Almac, this newly available synthesis leverages the company’s selectAZyme ligase enzymes to produce both single stranded and double stranded oligo products. 

 

The Ligase panel has the following attributes:

According to the company, choosing a complementary biocatalysis route for oligonucleotide synthesis offers many benefits including higher isolated purity of the RNA product, purity enrichment via ligation of the blockmers due to complementarity of base pairing. This technology also allows for convergent synthesis opening up new supply chain opportunities.

 

Dr. Jill Caswell, Biology Senior Team Leader said, “Almac has developed a range of biocatalytic products and services to facilitate the challenges posed in biocatalytic oligonucleotide synthesis and this new RNAL kit has the ability to diversify and strengthen supply chain blockmer manufacture which can often shorten timelines, benefitting our customers greatly. The expansion of our portfolio of product offerings further showcases our commitment to providing our customers with the most innovative and efficient processes.”